The present invention relates generally to a snowboard binding. More specifically, the present invention relates to a binding mechanism affixed to a snowboard and a cleat affixed to a boot with the cleat being releasably engaged by the binding mechanism.
In the sport of snowboarding, a rider rides the snowboard down a snow covered hill. The snowboard is shaped generally like a small surfboard or a large skateboard without wheels. The rider stands with his feet generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the snowboard. It is necessary to provide means to secure the rider""s boots to the snowboard.
It is desirable to have a manual release for the snowboard binding that is easy for the rider to operate. This is advantageous when the rider wishes to dismount from the board and walk on the terrain, or when he wishes to release one foot and push himself a short distance on snow while the other foot is bound to the snowboard, or when the rider wants to disengage the binding to get on or off a lift. Therefore, it is desirable to have a snowboard binding which securely holds the boots to the snowboard, does not release when the rider falls, but is easy to manually release.
When the rider does walk in the snow, it is common for snow to be caked to the sole of the rider""s snowboard boots. This interferes with remounting the boot onto the snowboard because snow becomes trapped between the sole of the boot and the top surface of the snowboard and in the binding mechanism itself, making it difficult to close and latch the mechanism. It is therefore desirable to have a boot and cleat design which is not prone to having snow stick to it. It is also desirable to have a cleat and binding design which operates despite the presence of snow on the cleat, the sole of the boot, or the top surface of the snowboard.
Since a rider may find himself on uneven terrain when he needs to engage his boots into the binding, it is also desirable to have a binding mechanism which operates with an easy step-in motion. Such a binding mechanism should make it easy to place the boot in the proper location relative to the binding and to engage the cleat with the binding by the step-in motion.
To provide secure engagement of the boot against the snowboard, it is desirable that the attachment points of the cleat be far apart from one another. This will securely hold the boot in place during riding and help prevent lift up of the heel during maneuvering. However, a large cleat makes it cumbersome to walk as it is prone to knocking against the rider""s legs as he walks and also increases the stiffness of the sole of the boot making it more difficult to walk. There is therefore a need for a binding and cleat design which provides adequate binding strength, yet still allows the snowboard rider to walk easily when the boot is disengaged from the binding.
As a rider is using the snowboard, he may traverse rough terrain. If the cleat is mounted directly on the top surface of the snowboard this increases the transmission of vibration through the snowboard into the rider""s foot making riding uncomfortable. It is therefore desirable to have a cleat and binding design which absorbs vibration from the terrain which is transmitted through the snowboard.
A snowboard binding generally orients the rider""s boots a fixed distance apart and transverse to the longitudinal axis of the snowboard. This can be uncomfortable for some riders. It is therefore desirable to have a binding mechanism and cleat design which allows for easy adjustment of the angular orientation of the boots relative to the longitudinal axis of the snowboard and also allows for adjustment of the spacing of the boots relative to one another.
Snowboard binding mechanisms are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,823 (Glaser), U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,216 (Ratzek), U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,202 (Miller), U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,073 (Raines), U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,116 (Hill), U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,204 (Weber), and U.S. Reissue Pat. No. Re.33,544. U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,858 (Faulin) discloses a shoe sole for a ski binding.
The present invention overcomes all of the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a strong, compact, lightweight binding mechanism, cleat and boot design which provides secure engagement of the boot against the top surface of the snowboard and is easy to operate as described in the several embodiments set forth herein.
In one aspect of the invention, the snowboard boots each have a cleat in the form of two cleat pieces separated in the fore and aft direction to allow flexibility of the boot while walking, the cleat pieces extending beyond the sides of the boot to provide stability when engaged with the binding mechanism.
In another aspect of the invention, the binding mechanism has an inner main body and an outer main body, and the outer main body has a handle which is manually operated to easily release or engage and lock the cleats.
In another aspect of the invention, the handle may be locked in place to prevent unintended release of the cleat by the binding mechanism.
In another aspect of the invention, the inner main body of the binding mechanism has a flat top surface and is shorter than the outer main body of the binding mechanism, allowing the rider to place his boot on the inner main binding and slide it outwards until it engages the outer main binding, thereby properly locating the cleat for a step-in engagement of the cleat pieces with the binding mechanism.
In another aspect of the invention, the inner and outer main bodies of the binding mechanism are affixed to the snowboard by a pair of adjusting plates which allow angular and spacing adjustment of the position of the inner and outer binding bodies.
In another aspect of the invention, a one-piece main body of the binding mechanism has a pair of inner hooks and a pair of outer hooks which engage a one-piece cleat, and a latch to secure the cleat from unintentional release.
In another aspect of the invention, the pair of outer hooks is higher than the pair of inner hooks allowing the cleat to slide outward against the outer hooks after it has been placed on the top surface of the main body to allow an easy step-in engagement.
In another aspect of the invention, the one-piece cleat has a pair of bevel surfaces angled away from the boot to engage the top of the binding main body to provide proper location of the boot in the fore and aft direction relative to the binding to allow easy engagement of the binding with the cleat.
In another aspect of the invention, the cleat is maintained above the bottom surface of the boot to help prevent snow from sticking to the cleat and to help keep entrapped snow from preventing engagement of the binding.
In another aspect of the invention, the one-piece main body of the binding is held to the snowboard by a circular mounting plate which fits in a recess in the main body, such that the angular position of the main body can adjusted a full 360 degrees.
In another aspect of the invention, a one-piece cleat is engaged with the binding mechanism by stepping the boot in toward the toe to be engaged by a front main body and then lowering the heel to be engaged by a spring-loaded latch mounted in a rear main body.
In another aspect of the invention, the one-piece cleat extends approximately 140 mm in the fore and aft direction of the boot to reduce toe and heel lift.
In another aspect of the invention, the one-piece cleat is fixed under the mid-sole of the boot and is curved to fit the contour of the mid-sole.
In another aspect of the invention, inside and outside main bodies are provided to engage the cleat at the sides of the boot, with the inside main body having a top surface with a shallower bevel angle to the snowboard than the outer binding top surface bevel, providing better guidance during step-in engagement when the feet are placed far apart, causing the rider""s leg to be at an angle from the normal to the snowboard.
In another aspect of the invention, the cleat may be disengaged from the snowboard by rotating the boot parallel to the top surface of the snowboard to provide easy disengagement.
In another aspect of the invention, a front and rear main body are provided to engage the cleat at fore and aft positions of the boot, wherein a one-piece cleat with rearwardly and forwardly extending tabs engages with the binding mechanism first by angling the front tab into the front main body and lowering the rear tab into the rear main body, engagement of the rear tab being accomplished by the rotation of an axle, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the snowboard, to which is affixed a latch that rotates into an engaged position over the rear tab.
In another aspect of the invention, the engaging portion of the rear main body is higher than the engaging portion of the front main body to allow for easy engagement of a one-piece cleat having a front section lower than its rear section.
In another aspect of the invention, rubber pads are affixed to the underside of both the front and rear sections of the one-piece cleat to eliminate contact of the boot outsole against the binding.
In another aspect of the invention, the one-piece cleat is strapped to the snowboard boot by the use of buckles located on the distal ends of the cleat front and rear sections, the buckles receiving the straps.
In another aspect of the invention, a front main body is provided for engagement with the front tab of a one-piece cleat, the cleat including two rearwardly disposed tabs to be engaged with two rear main bodies, the engagement of the rear tabs being accomplished by lowering handles which are mounted on bases and rotatably affixed to latches, the lowering of the handles causing the latches to rotate to such an extent that the rear tabs of the cleat are retained within cleat receiving grooves. The latches remain in this position without further force to the handles due to biasing springs on the axles upon which the latches are rotatably mounted.
In another aspect of the invention, the rider can lower the heel of the boot such that the rear tabs engage the latches in their engaged positions, with further downward pressure causing the latches to rotate into their released positions until the rear tabs become engaged with the cleat receiving grooves, wherein the latches bias back into their engaged positions.
The above and other aspects, structures and functions of the invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the invention which is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings.